Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman flew off with another seven top honours at the Broadcast Film Critics Association's 20th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards in Hollywood on Thursday (15Jan15). The movie picked up the event's first award for Best Acting Ensemble and went on to win another six accolades, including Best Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Score, while the film's star Michael Keaton added two more trophies to his collection - for Best Actor and Best Actor In A Comedy.
In his acceptance speech for the latter he noted, "Nobody is really better than anyone else, but I'll take this (award)."
The Grand Budapest Hotel, which, like Birdman, had picked up nine Oscar nominations earlier in the day, claimed three Critics Choice Awards, including Best Comedy, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design, while another Academy Awards favourite, Boyhood, scored four prizes - the top honour for Best Picture, Best Director (Richard Linklater), Best Supporting Actress (Patricia Arquette), and Best Young Actor (Ellar Coltrane).
Other winners included Julianne Moore (Best Actress for Still Alice), J.K. Simmons (Best Supporting Actor for Whiplash), Bradley Cooper (Best Actor in an Action Movie for American Sniper), and Emily Blunt (Best Actress in an Action Movie for Edge of Tomorrow).
Chris Miller, the co-writer/director of The LEGO Movie had a very special reason to celebrate his win for Best Animated Movie, as it came just hours after the film was snubbed in the same category at the Oscar nominations.
He said, "What a rollercoaster of emotions today has been."
Meanwhile, special awards went to veteran director/producer Ron Howard, who was handed the Louis XIII Genius Award, Kevin Costner, who was feted with a Lifetime Achievement Award and Jessica Chastain, who was presented with the first ever MVP Award, celebrating her multiple roles in films throughout the year, including A Most Violent Year, Interstellar, Miss Julie, and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.
The full list of winners is as follows:
Best Picture - Boyhood
Best Actor - Michael Keaton (Birdman)
Best Actress - Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Best Acting Ensemble - cast of Birdman
Best Director - Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Best Original Screenplay - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo (Birdman)
Best Adapted Screenplay - Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl)
Best Supporting Actor - J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
Best Supporting Actress - Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Best Young Actor/Actress - Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood)
Best Cinematography - Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman)
Best Art Direction - Adam Stockhausen/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Best Editing - Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione (Birdman)
Best Costume Design - Milena Canonero (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Best Hair and Makeup - Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Visual Effects - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Best Animated Feature - The LEGO Movie
Best Action Movie - Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Actor In An Action Movie - Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)
Best Actress In An Action Movie - Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow)
Best Comedy - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Actor In A Comedy - Michael Keaton (Birdman)
Best Actress In A Comedy - Jenny Slate (Obvious Child)
Best Sci-fi/Horror Movie - Interstellar
Best Foreign Language Film - Force Majeure (Sweden)
Best Documentary Feature - Life Itself
Best Song - Glory by Common and John Legend (Selma)
Best Score - Antonio Sanchez (Birdman)
Louis XIII Genius Award - Ron Howard
Lifetime Achievement Award - Kevin Costner
MVP Award - Jessica Chastain.

As obsessive readers and fans of dismissing quality movies as inferior to their literary counterparts, it's important for us to know which books will head to the big screen ahead of time. How else will we know how Wild Reese will be, or what is going to happen to Peeta? Be reasonable. We've decided to use our research for the good of society and share the adaptations coming soon that we are most excited for.
1. The Spook's Apprentice - Joseph Delaney (Seventh Son)
Thomas Ward (Ben Barnes) is the seventh son of the seventh son, which gives him the ability to see things that others cannot: ghosts, ghasts, boggarts, and the like. He becomes an apprentice to John Gregory, the Spook (Jeff Bridges). Julianne Moore is set to play Mother Malkin, one of the most sinister witches who uses blood magic, luring young runaway women into care before sucking their blood to maintain her youth, who was then imprisoned by the Spook. Kit Harington and Djimon Hounsou also star.
2. Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James
Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, in case you somehow didn't know, are stepping into the roles of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey for the adaptation of the incredibly successful erotic novel. Steele, a literature student, interviews Grey as a favor to her roommate, but quickly becomes entranced by this brilliant and handsome man who is unable to resist her. He admits his desire, but on his own terms; this is a man with a need to control everything. This is also probably going to be the movie with a bunch of heavy-breathing sweaty middle-aged women trying to control themselves in the theater. You've been warned.
3. In the Heart of the Sea - Nathaniel Philbrick
The last time Ron Howard and Chris Hemsworth teamed up, they brought us one of the best films of 2013, Rush. Now, they're at it again (along with Cillian Murphy and Benjamin Walker) with this story of a whaleship attacked by one angry whale, leaving the crew shipwrecked and stranded for 90 days, thousands of miles from land. The true story inspired a little book by Herman Melville (played in the movie by our favorite, Ben Whishaw) entitled Moby-Dick.
4. The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith (Carol)
W. W. Norton &amp; Company
Patricia Highsmith, author of successful novels-turned-movies like Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley (we're choosing to ignore the recent The Two Faces of January here), wrote The Price of Salt, which will be released as 'Carol.' The novel itself, controversial for its lesbian content and unprecedented gay happy ending, is said to have inspired Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. The film stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, and Sarah Paulson, with Far From Heaven and I'm Not There director Todd Haynes helming.
5. Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
Shaye Areheart Books
Gone Girl author brings us yet another chilling thriller. A young girl is the sole survivor of a massacre that leaves both of her sisters and her mother dead in an apparent Satanic cult ritual. She testifies against her brother, but 25 years later, she begins to investigate the actual events. Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nicholas Hoult, and Christina Hendricks star.
6. A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson
HarperCollins Publishers
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants director Ken Kwapis is set to direct Bryson's memoir, starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. The hilarious book describes Bryson's attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail with his friend Stephen Katz. Emma Thompson and Parks and Recreation's Nick Offerman will also star.
7. Insurgent - Veronica Roth
As conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows, a war looms for Divergent's post-apocalyptic Chicago. In this sequel, we're still following Shailene Woodley and Theo James' Tris and Four as they try to understand the reasons for Erudite's insurrection and obtain information the Abnegation are trying to protect. Kate Winslet, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, and Miles Teller return in their supporting roles, and are joined by some all-star names: Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, and Suki Waterhouse.
8. Serena - Ron Rash
The dynamic duo of mega-nominated movies Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle are back at it! Bradley Cooper plays a man trying to maintain his timber empire during the Depression, while Jennifer Lawrence plays his wife who discovers she can't have children. For some reason, we're a little terrified of JLaw in this movie from the trailer.
9. Silence - Shusako Endo
Taplinger Publishing Company
This 1966 novel about a Jesuit missionary sent to 17th century Japan where he endures persecution is set to be adapted by Martin Scorsese. It will also have an all star cast of Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson, Ken Watanabe, and Adam Driver.
10. The Longest Ride - Nicholas Sparks
The producers of The Fault in Our Stars, the author of The Notebook, and the hottest Hollywood son around, this movie already has us in love with it. Scott Eastwood and Britt Robertson play two lovers and there's a rodeo or something; we don't really know, we were just thinking about how much this movie will make us cry. Time to read the book.
11. Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
The Hunt director Thomas Vinterberg tackles Thomas Hardy's novel. Carey Mulligan stars as Bathsheba Everdene, a woman who has too many men in love with her and of course rejects them all until she falls for one. Three men, played by Michael Sheen, Matthias Schoenaerts (Rust and Bone), and Tom Sturridge (On The Road), all after this woman: who will she end up with? We actually just read the plot description and had everything spoiled and somehow still gasped and cried at those three paragraphs. Why didn't we know about this book before?!
12. Paper Towns - John Green
Dutton Books
The Fault in Our Stars author John Green's next book to be adapted by the same team who adapted TFIOS (Scott Neustadter &amp; Michael H. Weber). Margo and her adventures are legendary at her high school, and Quentin ("Q") has always loved her for it. Margo climbs through his window and demands he take an all night road trip of revenge, but when she goes missing the next day, Q realizes she's left clues for him and promptly hits the road again in search of her. Cara Delevingne will play Margo and TFIOS' Nat Wolff will play Q.
13. The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge - Michael Punke
Carroll &amp; Graf Publishers
Academy Award-nominated Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman, 21 Grams, Biutiful) is set to direct Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy in this adaptation. Partially based on the life of fur trapper Hugh Glass. Leo will play Glass, who is mauled by a bear, then later robbed and left for dead by his companions. He survives and sets out for revenge against those same men.
14. The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry
Faber and Faber
A one-hundred-year-old woman, Roseanne McNulty, in a mental hospital for about 50 years decides to retrace her history. As the hospital faces demolition and he must choose which of his patients should be transferred and which should rejoin the community, Dr. Grene also tries to discover her history. What they find is very different, though there are some consistencies. Vanessa Redgrave and Rooney Mara will play Roseanne McNulty, Eric Bana will play Grene, with Theo James also starring.
15. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Penguin Classics
An oft-adapted novel, Mary Shelley's classic is to be turned into yet another film, this time directed by Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin, Push). The updated version, titled Victor Frankenstein, will be told from the perspective of the doctor's assistant, Igor. The film will explain how the doctor became the man who created the legendary monster. Daniel Radcliffe will play Igor and James McAvoy will play Victor Frankenstein.
16. The Martian - Andy Weir
Crown Publishing Group
Described as Cast Away meets Apollo 13, the novel follows an astronaut stranded on Mars, fighting to survive (which also sounds mildly like Gravity to us, no?). Ridley Scott is set to direct a pretty stellar (no pun intended) cast here: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Donald Glover, Kate Mara, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. This sounds like a great movie already, but we'll have to wait until November to see it.
17. The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling
Macmillan Publishers
Walt Disney Pictures is working on this live-action/CGI mash-up of the classic book, directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Chef), with a mind-bogglingly incredible cast. Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Walken, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong'o, and Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito will provide voices, while newcomer Neel Sethi will play Mowgli.

Ansel Elgort and Natalie Dormer landed acting prizes at the 2014 New Now Next Awards on Tuesday (02Dec14). The Fault in Our Stars actor saw off competition from Miles Teller, Dylan O'Brien and Chris Pratt to be named Best New Lead Film Actor at the ceremony, while Games of Thrones actress Dormer won the female prize for her role in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I.
The movie Dear White People was named Best Motion Picture By a New Filmmaker while Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn picked up the Best New Screenwriter prize for adapting her novel for the big screen.
Also at the public-voted awards, which celebrate up-and-coming talent, British singer Sam Smith won the Best New Musician (Male) prize while Australian singer/songwriter Betty Who picked up the female counterpart.
Former Glee star Jonathan Groff landed the Best New Television Actor for his role in sitcom Looking, which was also named Best New Television Series. Orange is the New Black's Lorraine Toussaint won the TV actress award.
In theatre, there were prizes for Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and actress Sophie Okonedo, who won a trophy for her role in the play A Raisin in The Sun.
The ceremony, hosted by Glee's Darren Criss, will air in the U.S. on Sunday (07Dec14).

Hit thriller Gone Girl and sci-fi action movie Guardians Of The Galaxy are among the top nominees at the 2014 New Now Next Awards. Gone Girl, based on Gillian Flynn's 2012 book of the same name, has been shortlisted twice for Best New Lead Film Actress for Rosamund Pike and Carrie Coon, alongside Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle), Jennie Slate (Obvious Child) and Natalie Dormer (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1), while author Flynn is up for Best New Screenwriter.
Meanwhile, James Gunn will battle it out for the title of Best Motion Picture By a New Filmmaker for Guardians of the Galaxy, and his leading man Chris Pratt will compete for Best New Lead Film Actor, facing off with Miles Teller (Whiplash), Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood), Dylan O'Brien (The Maze Runner) and Ansel Elgort (The Fault In Our Stars).
Movie stars also dominated the theatre acting categories, with Bryan Cranston (All The Way), Rupert Grint (It's Only a Play) and Michael Cera (This Is Our Youth) up for Best New Broadway Lead Actor, while Rose Byrne (You Can't Take It With You), Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Real Thing) and Michelle Williams (Cabaret) feature in the female equivalent.
In the TV section, acting nominees include Orange is the New Black's Lorraine Toussaint, House of Cards' Molly Parker, Pedro Pascal from Game of Thrones and The Leftovers' Justin Theroux, while Gwen Stefani's turn on The Voice has earned her an unexpected nod in the Best New Television Personality category.
Music nominees feature the likes of Iggy Azalea, her Fancy collaborator Charli XCX and Meghan Trainor for Best New Musician (Female), with Nick Jonas, Sam Smith and Paolo Nutini leading the way in the male category.
The annual awards show highlights the best new talent in pop culture. Winners will be determined by public vote and announced during a ceremony in December (14).

Recent years have seen classic fairy tales spawn a variety of cinematic adaptations. In some cases we see family friendly updates like Mirror Mirror. In others we see dark reimaginings like Snow White and the Huntsman. In each of these cases regardless of how successful they might have been in achieving their artistic visions it was clear what type of movie was being made. With Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters such is hardly the case.
The film opens with a playful macabre tone hearkening back to the family-friendly (but nonetheless scary) Halloween movies of the '80s and '90s and prompting hope for this attitude to carry forth throughout the movie. The brimming imagery silly dialogue and overacting of the introductory scene makes it feels like the kind of thing you'd have loved as a child — the sort of film you'd make a tradition of watching every October... until you reached 9th grade and were forever robbed of your innocent love of simple pleasures.
But following the intro — which sends young Hansel and Gretel off into the pitch black woods after their mother and father are forced to hide them from an undisclosed threat and subsequently throws them into the clutches of a decrepit old witch in a candy house — we're treated to a movie with a stark identity crisis.
The subject matter pacing aesthetic style and sophistication of the material all suggest a film for children. But for some reason this movie seems bent on proving itself "mature." Kind of like when you reached 9th grade and were forever robbed of your innocent love of simple pleasures and felt the need to prove just how grown up you were Hansel and Gretel "rebels" against its childlike nature by throwing in very jagged flashes of grotesque gore and misplaced expletives.
The two youngsters manage to escape the wrath of a witch and then devote their lives to taking the witch race down hired as bounty hunters by a small town mayor to recover the kidnapped children of a handful of villagers.
Now this could successfully translate in two different ways: it could take form as a fun-for-all-ages adventure wrapped in black magic and kooky characters or as a dark adult deconstruction of the classic tale. What we get instead is a grab for both and an achievement of neither with the confusion of the mixed message landing Hansel and Gretel in a nebulous middle ground.
The story we're faced with seems best suited for young ones. Simplicity is the name of the game for titular heroes Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arteron who don't have much in the way of character beyond "We kill witches!"
Renner is the puggish kill-first-question-later gun-toter stricken with diabetes (the strangest element of this movie) after his run-in with the candy house witch; Arteron is vicious with a crossbow and a headbutt but more even-keeled and demanding of evidence of witchcraft before imparting her wrath.
The duo are teamed with the likes of Mina (Pihla Viitala) an enigmatic woman saved from torch-wielding villagers by Hansel and Gretel Ben (Thomas Mann) an overly eager young fan of the pair who looks and acts like he's straight out of Growing Pains and eventually Edward (Derek Mears) a closed-mouthed troll who takes a liking to Gretel for mysterious reasons. The uncomplicated characters fast-flying broomstick chases and incredibly accessible overarching plot would and should land us with a PG-13 gunner.
But the prevalence of the aforementioned gore nonstop violence and harsh language stamps the picture with an R-rating.
And for the adults to whom this brand of movie is limited something like Hansel and Gretel would come off as brainless. Not dull — the pacing ensures that you won't be bored. Not overwhelmingly bad in any way really. Just lacking in substance and charm. In a word dumb.
While preteens and young teens might eat this kind of thing up (whether or not they should is an entirely different question) adults will find it unfulfilling.
Empty characters paper-thin plots effortless (this is not a compliment) acting by the whole cast — even generally talented players like head witch Famke Janssen and villainous sheriff Peter Stormare — will give a sophisticated viewer nothing to hold onto.
But for some reason the movie insists on its head smashings and awkward exclamations of "F**k!" Throwing these to the wayside might have actually granted the movie a more successful mission statement.
Hansel and Gretel doesn't have anything at its disposal capable of making it a great movie or even a good one.
But a decision as to whom it wishes to please would at least have bumped it up a notch or two. No it's not a painful watch nor an offensive one. As suggested above it simply offers nothing discernible. And to whom? That's the big question.

On the screen (big or small), the airwaves, and in the bookstore, we were captivated by new talent in 2012. From fresh faces with fresh voices, like Lena Dunham and Rebel Wilson, to veterans who were really given the chance to shine this year, like Channing Tatum and Jonathan Banks, here are the 20 stars that grabbed hold of our attention in 2012 — and we hope won't let go any time soon.
TV's Breakout Stars
Lena Dunham
She may be a polarizing figure, but even naysayers can’t deny that this was the year of Lena Dunham. The writer/director/producer/author/actress barreled right into the upper echelon of entertainers with her stripped down, brutally honest HBO series Girls and rolled right into a $3.6 million dollar book deal. And all this at the age of 26. As her Girls character Hannah Horvath mumbles while high on opium tea: Dunham’s not necessarily the voice of her generation, but she’s certainly a voice of a generation. Plus, Louis C.K. agrees that what she’s doing is “important,” and he’s pretty tough to argue with.
Max Greenfield
In just one season, Max Greenfield's wonderfully douchey character Schmidt joined the ranks of classic singularly named sitcom sidekicks like Kramer and Fez. Greenfield's nuanced performance as the (actually quite insecure deep down inside) Schmidt helped make New Girl into one of the best comedies on television, and forever changed the way we said "chutney."
Mindy Kaling
After years of toiling away behind a desk on The Office, Mindy Kaling is finally front and center in her Fox comedy The Mindy Project. Don't let the crappy name fool you, the comedy about a ditzy doctor looking for love in a crazy office is more original and off-kilter than it would suggest.
Jessica Paré
It would be impossible to sing the praises of the brilliant Season 5 of Mad Men without singing the praises of the sexy, talented woman who sang 2012's most unexpected viral sensation: "Zou Bisou Bisou." Whether you loved or hated Paré's Megan, her impact on the show this season was undeniable.
Chris Messina
Every girl needs a guy to drool over, right? For Mindy Kaling, it's the somewhat jerky macho man played by Chris Messina on The Mindy Project. With character turns in Argo, Celeste and Jesse Forever, and recurring spots on Damages and (ugh) The Newsroom, this dreamboat hasn't had any time to rest.
Damian Lewis
As war hero turned terrorist turned (maybe?) CIA ally Sergeant Nicolas Brody on Showtime's acclaimed series Homeland, Damian Lewis kept us on the edge of our seats Sunday after Sunday. Despite Claire Danes' quivering chin's attempt to steal every scene, Lewis' Brody acted as the show's emotional heart. In 2012, Lewis took home the Best Actor in a Drama Series Emmy he so deserved.
Jonathan Banks
When an actor has been in the game as long as Jonathan Banks has, making a career on dozens of supporting and guest roles, it’d take a superhuman performance to launch him to the forefront of the pop culture conversation. After two years as Breaking Bad’s no-nonsense backup player Mike Ehrmantraut, Banks earned colossal notoriety with his turn in the AMC series’ fifth season. Mike, always a well liked character, became the show’s central pull when Banks instilled in him the strength, frustration, and pain that award-caliber performances are made of. His rise and fall as a prominent player in the business dealings of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman and in his own relationship with his beloved granddaughter exhibited everything the crime drama mainstay Banks had at his disposal, about which we might never have known. Thankfully, Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan gave this once nameless character the spotlight this year, placing in Banks' capable hands the show’s pulsing humanity.
Up Next: The Biggest Breakouts on the Silver ScreenMovies' Biggest Breakouts
Quvenzhane Wallis
It always sparks chatter when a newcomer to the acting game gives a breathtaking performance — but Quvenzhane Wallis is the extreme. A five-year-old first-time actor at the time of her role in the magnificent tearjerker Beasts of the Southern Wild, Wallis doesn’t just take your breath away, she lays claim to your entire respiratory system. No performance in all of 2012 was bigger than young Wallis’. Despise her age, she managed to not only to keep up with director Benh Zeitlin’s Earth-shattering parable for the tragedies of Hurricane Katrina, but she launched the story to otherworldly levels of emotional resonance. Wallis’ role in the feature has attracted her to great auteur Steven McQueen, which means that she’ll be enjoying a long, steady career of quality projects as long as she might wish to.
Ezra Miller
Considering readers’ devotion to Stephen Chbosky’s classic, life-affirming novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the celebration of the book’s big screen adaptation is all the more impressive. One of the most important elements in the construction of such a perfect adaptation is the casting, one of the many areas in which writer/director Chbosky triumphed: Logan Lerman was a terrific Charlie and Emma Watson a stellar Sam. But standing out among them was Ezra Miller, who brought so much life and humor, so much pain and turmoil into the character of Patrick that you’ll forget you ever imagined him in another light. Earlier in the year, Miller dazzled and horrified as the tormented teenage star of We Need to Talk About Kevin, inspiring shivers and tears with his incarnation of the dark, disturbed main character driven to horrible violence. As such, we can call Miller’s range boundless.
Rebel Wilson
It’s no small feat to steal the spotlight from comedy bigwigs like Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, especially when you only have a few short lines in the entire movie – but that’s exactly what Rebel Wilson did in Bridesmaids. This hilarious Aussie comedian became a household name after that, going on to star in another raunchy wedding-themed film Bachelorette, and becoming the first person cast in the collegiate a capella comedy Pitch Perfect.
Dane DeHaan
DeHaan looks like a young Leonardo DiCaprio — meaning he would have been fine taking easy parts that capitalized on his good looks. Luckily, in 2012 the actor did so much more than that, parlaying his time on In Treatment into a string of roles in risky works like Chronicle, Lawless, and Lincoln. 2013 is also looking bright, with The Place Beyond the Pines, a sprawling family drama that debuted to raves at this year's Toronto Film Festival, arriving in the Spring, and Sundance 2013 premiere Kill Your Darlings, which DeHaan costars in alongside Daniel Radcliffe. Oh, and he just landed a juicy part in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, in case all that heavy material was starting to scare you.
Channing Tatum
“An hour [to sum up] the year? Am I supposed to just scratch the surface of Channing Tatum's meteoric rise?" We feel your pain, Liz Lemon. There's no way this entry would do justice to the year Tatum had, what with his People's Sexiest Man Alive title and eclectic, surprising performances on the big screen (Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street, The Vow). It's his world now, we're all just just happily living in it.
Scoot McNairy
After his impressive turn in the 2010 sci-fi indie film Monsters, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood picked up on McNairy and wrangled him for bigger features. Going quiet for more than a year, McNairy dominated the Fall award season with eclectic roles in Argo, Killing Them Softly, and Promised Land. The actor held his own against big names like Ben Affleck and Brad Pitt, a nearly impossible task made easy by McNairy's ability to slip into any shoes, from criminal junkie to farmhand to Iranian embassy worker.
Up Next: Music and MoreThe Biggest Breakouts of Music, Sports, and Literature
Ryan Lochte
Though he may now be the world’s most famous “Sex Idiot” per 30 Rock, Ryan Lochte broke out in 2012 thanks to his skills in the pool. At least initially. After winning five medals in London during the Summer Olympics, Lochte’s fame grew thanks to his go-to exclamation ("Jeah!"), his economy of words (“I like swimming because racing”), and of course, that grill. Oh, and he’s pretty hot too.
Phillip Phillips
Despite his extensive health problems (which plagued him through his run on American Idol), Phillips has managed to carve out a nice little fan base with his ubiquitous hit “Home.” After winning the Fox singing competition, Phillips recorded his first and only Mumford and Sons-ish single, sending it straight to NBC as the theme of this year’s Summer Olympics in London. Now, the familiar trotting and cooing of Phillips’ musical equivalent of comfort food can be heard just about everywhere. If only that album of his would come our way a little faster!
Ed Sheeran
If you turned on the radio at some point this year, you know who Ed Sheeran is. This English singer-songwriter is best known for his hit, “The A Team,” and for co-writing “Little Things,” “Over Again,” and “Moments” for super group boy band One Direction. He also played at the Olympics' closing ceremony and co-wrote (and is heard on) Taylor Swift’s track “Everything Has Changed.”
Frank Ocean
This year, Ocean broke out of his role as a ghost writer for big acts like Justin Bieber and John Legend and released one of the most beloved albums of 2012, Channel Orange, which features singles like “Pyramids” and “Sweet Life” characterized by subdued rhythms, experimental elements, and haunting melodies that music-lovers quickly embraced. But it wasn’t simply his talent and flair for innovation that shined in 2012, it was his bravery. Ocean became one of the first openly gay hip-hop artists in mainstream music, and was quickly embraced for his openness in a world often characterized as homophobic.
Jess Walter
With six novels and a prestigious journalism career under his belt, Jess Walter is in no way a newcomer. However, his extraordinary novel Beautiful Ruins not only snagged a spot on the New York Times's 100 Notable Books of 2012, but also made him a household name. Walter's sweeping tale of love, which spans five decades and takes us from the Italian countryside in the 1960s to Hollywood pitch meetings in the present day, is the kind of story that stays with you. Walter is similarly a talent who is sure to weather the ages.
Gillian Flynn
Gillian Flynn's first two novels (Sharp Objects and Dark Places) earned critical acclaim and book awards buzz, but no book made more of a splash this year than Flynn's tightly written thriller Gone Girl. The eye-catching black and neon cover was a subway staple, and book clubs all over the country discussed the novel's big twist at length. Now, Flynn is in talks to adapt her suspenseful tale of betrayal and murder to the big screen, ensuring we'll see much more of her, as well as her unforgettable characters, Nick and Amy, in the years to come.
E. L. James
After the year she's had, E. L. James hardly needs an introduction. In 2012, James transformed from a British housewife writing Twilight fan fiction in her spare time to the year's best-selling author (for her erotic Fifty Shades trilogy). She was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World, and one of Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People. Not too shabby.
[Photo Credit: WENN (2); INF Photo]
More:
Staff Picks: The 15 Best TV Shows of 2012 (And the 5 Worst)
Play it Again: The 12 Best Albums of 2012
The 20 Best Movies of 2012 (and the 5 Worst)
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While recent animated blockbusters have aimed to viewers of all ages starting with fantastical concepts and breathtaking visuals but tackling complex emotional issues along the way Ice Age: Continental Drift is crafted especially for the wee ones — and it works. Venturing back to prehistoric times once again the fourth Ice Age film paints broad strokes on the theme of familial relationships throwing in plenty of physical comedy along the way. The movie isn't that far off from one of the many Land Before Time direct-to-video sequels: not particularly innovative or necessary but harmless thrilling fun for anyone with a sense of humor. Unless they have a particular distaste for wooly mammoths the kids will love it.
Ice Age: Continental Drift continues to snowball its cartoon roster bringing back the original film's trio (Ray Romano as Manny the Mammoth Denis Leary as Diego the Sabertooth Tiger and John Leguizamo as Sid the Sloth) new faces acquired over the course of the franchise (Queen Latifah as Manny's wife Ellie) and a handful of new characters to spice things up everyone from Nicki Minaj as Manny's daughter Steffie to Wanda Sykes as Sid's wily grandma. The whole gang is living a pleasant existence as a herd with Manny's biggest problem being playing overbearing dad to the rebellious daughter. Teen mammoths they always want to go out and play by the waterfall! Whippersnappers.
The main thrust of the film comes when Scratch the Rat (whose silent comedy routines in the vein of Tex Avery/WB cartoons continue to be the series highlight) accidentally cracks the singular continent Pangea into the world we know today. Manny Diego and Sid find themselves stranded on an iceberg once again forced on a road trip journey of survival. The rest of the herd embarks to meet them giving Steffie time to realize the true meaning of friendship with help from her mole pal Louis (Josh Gad).
The ham-handed lessons may drag for those who've passed Kindergarten but Ice Age: Continental Drift is a lot of fun when the main gang crosses paths with a group of villainous pirates. (Back then monkeys rabbits and seals were hitting the high seas together pillaging via boat-shaped icebergs. Obviously.) Quickly Ice Age becomes an old school pirate adventure complete with maritime navigation buried treasure and sword fights. Gut (Peter Dinklage) an evil ape with a deadly... fingernail leads the evil-doers who pose an entertaining threat for the familiar bunch. Jennifer Lopez pops by as Gut's second-in-command Shira the White Tiger and the film's two cats have a chase scene that should rouse even the most apathetic adults. Hearing Dinklage (of Game of Thrones fame) belt out a pirate shanty may be worth the price of admission alone.
With solid action (that doesn't need the 3D addition) cartoony animation and gags out the wazoo Ice Age: Continental Drift is entertainment to enjoy with the whole family. Revelatory? Not quite. Until we get a feature length silent film of Scratch's acorn pursuit we may never see a "classic" Ice Age film but Continental Drift keeps it together long enough to tell a simple story with delightful flare that should hold attention spans of any length. Massive amounts of sugar not even required.
[Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox]

Widening the thematic scope without sacrificing too much of the claustrophobia that made the original 1979 Alien universally spooky Prometheus takes the trophy for this summer's most adult-oriented blockbuster entertainment. The movie will leave your mouth agape for its entire runtime first with its majestic exploration of an alien planet and conjectures on the origins of the human race second with its gross-out body horror that leaves no spilled gut to the imagination. Thin characters feel more like pawns in Scott's sci-fi prequel but stunning visuals shocking turns and grand questions more than make up for the shallow ensemble. "Epic" comes in many forms. Prometheus sports all of them.
Based on their discovery of a series of cave drawings all sharing a similar painted design Elizabeth (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie (Logan Marshall-Green) are recruited by Weyland to head a mission to another planet one they believe holds the answers to the creation of life on Earth. Along for the journey are Vickers (Charlize Theron) the ruthless Weyland proxy Janek (Idris Elba) a blue collar captain a slew of faceless scientists and David (Michael Fassbender) HAL 9000-esque resident android who awakens the crew of spaceship Prometheus when they arrive to their destination. Immediately upon descent there's a discovery: a giant mound that's anything but natural. The crew immediately prepares to scope out the scene zipping up high-tech spacesuits jumping in futuristic humvees and heading out to the site. What they discover are the awe-inspiring creations of another race. What they bring back to the ship is what they realize may kill their own.
The first half of Prometheus could be easily mistaken for Steven Spielberg's Alien a sense of wonder glowing from every frame not too unlike Close Encounters. Scott takes full advantage of his fictional settings and imbues them with a reality that makes them even more tantalizing. He shoots the vistas of space and the alien planet like National Geographic porn and savors the interior moments on board the Prometheus full of hologram maps sleeping pods and do-it-yourself surgery modules with the same attention. Prometheus is beautiful shot in immersive 3D that never dampers Dariusz Wolski's sharp photography. Scott's direction seems less interested in the run-or-die scenario set up in the latter half of the film but the film maintains tension and mood from beginning to end. It all just gets a bit…bloodier.
Jon Spaihts' and Damon Lindelof's script doesn't do the performers any favors shuffling them to and fro between the ship and the alien construction without much room for development. Reveals are shoehorned in without much setup (one involving Theron's Vickers that's shockingly mishandled) but for the most part the ensemble is ready to chomp into the script's bigger picture conceits. Rapace is a physical performer capable of pulling off a grisly scene involving an alien some sharp objects and a painful procedure (sure to be the scene of the blockbuster season. Among the rest of the crew Fassbender's David stands out as the film's revelatory performance delivering a digestible ambiguity to his mechanical man that playfully toys with expectations from his first entrance. The creature effects in Prometheus will wow you but even Fassbender's smallest gesture can send the mind spinning. The power of his smile packs more of a punch than any facehugger.
Much like Lindelof's Lost Prometheus aims to explore the idea of asking questions and seeking answers and on Scott's scale it's a tremendous unexpected ride. A few ideas introduced to spur action fall to the way side in the logic department but with a clear mission and end point Prometheus works as a sweeping sci-fi that doesn't require choppy editing or endless explosions to keep us on the edge of our seats. Prometheus isn't too far off from the Alien xenomorphs: born from existing DNA of another creature the movie breaks out as its own beast. And it's wilder than ever.
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No matter how popular she becomes, how many movies she stars in, how many raves she receives for her work, I'll always want more from Anna Faris. I'm greedy like that.
Ever since her debut in Scary Movie, I've had an affection for Faris' brand of no-holds-bar comedy—a style few women have dared to even attempt. But if being hit in the face with an array of objects was her only talent, Faris would be the comedic tour-de-force that she's evolving into. She also has a hell of a lot of charm, as evidenced in her latest movie What's Your Number?, which hit Blu-ray this week.
I had a chance to chat it up with Faris, to discuss her constantly- evolving career, the state of female-driven comedies, working with her equally-lovable husband Chris Pratt and what's next for the rising star:
Not only were you the lead actress in this movie, but you also acted as a producer? When did you step into the project and how did your role evolve?
Anna Faris: Well, the script was already there, and had been around for a little bit. And then the producers that we had, Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson, brought the script to me. I think post-House Bunny. And then we sort of shopped it around to different studios. And as we shopped it around, I came on as executive producer. Which I think…[laughs] I’m still confused about what it means.
You did something that helped the movie get made.
AF: Yeah! [Laughs]
Did the movie change at all?
AF: No. I loved the characters so much. Some of the cameos were tweaked a little bit as the actors wanted to sort of play with them. Which is great. What did change is, they wrote in a basketball sequence, which I was thrilled about. Terrified.
Why were you scared?
AF: If you knew me for, like, more than a week, you’d realize that anything round confuses me. My coordination skills are just beyond atrocious. And then also being in my underwear with Chris [Pratt] there. [Laughs] I was like, ‘Oh no.’
You give a lot over to this movie. All of your movies, really.
AF: [Laughs] Thanks! Early on, with Scary Movies and some other projects, I used to feel like, ‘I’m the girl who will take the roles that other girls don’t want.’
But do you enjoy that? Doing the physical stuff, and putting yourself in a place where most people probably wouldn’t go?
AF: Yeah, I do. But I remember early on, after doing the first or second Scary Movie, reading some review that says something like, ‘Is she really as dumb as she plays?’ And I started to get a little self-conscious.
No!
AF: [Laughs] I know. But I also learned to never read reviews or Google yourself. I do like playing a variety of characters. But I don’t mind…I’m comfortable in the ‘dumb blonde’ idea.
Sure. I love a lot of your movies—especially, Smiley Face, Observe and Report. Some of these even wackier costarring roles. Is it important for you to bounce between the lead role and costarring stuff just for variety? Or is that necessity?
AF: I think it’s both. I definitely love playing roles that are different from the last role that I played. And sometimes it’s really fun to be kind of awful, like my characters in Observe and Report and Just Friends. That was really fun. What’s Your Number? was the first romantic comedy lead that I’ve had, and the most well-rounded character that I’ve played in a long time. And there’s a lot of pressure to be charming, I think. That was a whole new sort of talent.
Getting people to like you is not easy
AF: Yeah! Guys don’t quite have those same pressures to force an audience to fall in love with [them]. I don’t know. It’s interesting.
You were talking about all of the male co-stars that you have in this movie. Were involved with wrangling these guys, getting these guys on board. I’m sure your husband being in the film wasn’t a difficult get for you. I don’t know.
AF: [Laughs] Actually, that was a role he really wanted to play. I was psyched. Because I wanted him to be a part of it, and I was like, ‘Honey, would you please do the movie?' And he was drawn to Disgusting Donald. But I was friends with Joel McHale and Andy Samberg before. So that was so thrilling that they came on to do it. And all the guys! It was just like a huge compliment. They were taking the time out to play a cameo in my movie. It was really flattering and exciting. And I think it’s sort of indicative of the kind of tone right now in Hollywood in terms of comedy. It feels like there’s a lot of support.
Does working with people you know allow you to be more comfortable and play more on set? It’s always a race on a movie set. I’m curious if you had the time to toy with the material.
AF: Yeah. We had a really great cast in all regards. Everyone got along. And I think that comes from our director and producers as well. Because we didn’t have anybody who was high-maintenance. We couldn’t afford to have anybody who was high-maintenance. We did laugh, and we did improv. But also, I do remember being worried about, like, ‘Are we going to make the day? Guys, shut up and start acting please!’
Is there a lot of pressure for you in that way? I don’t know if we hear a lot about that from actors. Pressure either to get it right or just to get it in the can.
AF: I felt, because we had a limited…we just needed to make our days. And I was very conscious of that because it felt like I had the most invested in the project. Other people tried to protect me from that, but my personality is a little—
Are you snapping your fingers on set, telling people what to do?
AF: [Laughs] A little—well, no, not really…It was always in the back of my mind. Let’s put it that way.
I know these days you're taking a very big step to help create and produce your own material. You know how the Hollywood machine works. Can you talk a little about your upcoming projects and how your career is evolving and changing?
AF: There’s a couple project that we’ve got in development. One is sort of a psycho roommate idea. There’s another one that we’re working on with Happy Madison; that’s a ‘gold diggers’ idea. But then there’s a couple independents that I feel really passionate about. One is with Bill Hader, and the other one is with Paul Rudd. We’re working on getting those. But what has changed for me is that I think I’ve had to develop or work on that side of things out of necessity. Because I was getting too…I think most women in comedy feel, probably, that the scripts just aren’t out there. So how do you find work?
You make it!
AF: [Laughs] Yeah. Turns out you have to work!
Is it a lot of jumping through hurdles?
AF: Yeah.
Do you feel that movies like help you get the clout to step into a room and say, ‘This is what I want to do now.’ 's>
AF: It’s so hard to make a movie, and you don’t realize that when you’re first starting out. I would get cast, and then two weeks later, we’d be shooting. I didn’t realize that there was two years of development before. I think understanding the timeline…and projects sort of falling apart and coming together…it always feels like a small miracle.
We were talking about your husband Chris—you guys have done two movies now together, What's Your Number and Take Me Home Tonight. Do you think you’ll do another movie at some point?
AF: We’d love to. I love working with him. I think he’s so amazing at improv. We would love to. I don’t know if Hollywood sort of allows that. I don’t know the rules about that. I feel confused. But I do have The Dictator coming out in May. So that will be a whole different journey, I suppose.
You play opposite Sacha Baron Cohen in that movie. What kind of role is that for you?
AF: I play a sort of Brooklyn hipster. Actually, I wouldn’t call her a hipster. Maybe a hippie. But she runs a vegan grocery store and an organic farm in Brooklyn. It’s a whole different look for me. I wear a short brown wig, and pretty unflattering clothes—which I love! And I grew out my armpit [hair]…oh, I’m probably not supposed to talk about that.
No, that’s amazing.
AF: I feel like the studio is going to get mad at me if I start talking about it right now. [Laughs] But I did. I was very proud of myself. But it was really fun and really crazy. I haven’t seen it yet. So, I’m curious to see [how it] ended up.